Pipefish of South Australia

At least 28 species of pipefish have been recorded in South Australian waters. Due largely to these bony fishes’ cryptic nature, reported sightings for many species are few. Much remains to be learned about their range, distribution, abundance, biology and ecology. If you see a pipefish in South Australian waters, we encourage you to log your sighting on the Atlas of Living Australia. Pages for each species are linked via the common names listed below.

The list below was compiled by MLSSA member Dan Monceaux, based on records from the ALA (as at April 2015) with additional information (depth ranges and sizes) from Seahorses and their relatives by Rudie H. Kuiter (Aquatic Photographics, 2009).

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4 Comments

Hi
We were at Pt Hughes a couple of days ago and wonder if you can help us to identify which pipe fish we have seen? Approx 30cm long and 2cm diameter with regularly spaced luminescent green ovals and long stripes of a turquoise blue down the length of its body. The head and snout were a darker luminescent purple- blue.

Hi Meredith, Sorry that I’m a year late now. My attention has just been drawn back to your enquiry from last year. I was away when I responded last year and it seems that your enquiry got overlooked on my return. Only a Knife-snout pipefish, Hypselognathus rostratus seems to fit your description.